In the freight shipping business, it is well known that in many situations, the transfer of containers from ship to rail may involve extra manpower and lost time while containers are first transferred to highway trailers, and thence to rail yards for organization, reloading, and connection of intercity trains. However, loading of containers on to highway capable trailers, and thence the loading of freight trailers on to rail cars, or alternately unloading the trailer and thence loading containers on to rail cars, is a rather labor intensive and time consuming activity. For example, highway trailers are often driven alongside of ships to a position for receiving a container from the ship. Then, the highway trailers may be moved to rail yard, where a switch engine may be used to position rail cars to a loading platform accessible to tractors for the trucks and the highway trailers on which the container was placed. As a result, the use of rail-to-road intermodal system methods have largely been limited to rather long distance freight hauls. However, in an ever more competitive shipping cost environment, there remains a need for improvements which would provide cost savings, and in particular, labor hour savings. More particularly, on “short” or “medium” haul lengths, say 200 to 400 miles, the use of rail systems might completely avoid the need for long haul truck drivers for large numbers of tractor-trailer combinations. Thus, the provision and use of a new ship-to-rail-to-road intermodal system would be desirable. Thus, it would be advantageous if novel, cost effective methods were available, along with novel apparatus for implementation of such methods, for improving economics of ship-to-rail—to road freight transfer.
The foregoing figures, being merely exemplary, contain various elements that may be present or omitted from apparatus that may be used to practice the methods taught herein. An attempt has been made to draw the figures in a way that illustrates at least those elements that are significant for an understanding of the apparatus and methods taught herein, and for the alternate configurations thereof. However, various other elements for conveyor systems, and intermodal freight system components and methods of use thereof, may be utilized, within the teachings hereof and within the coverage of the claims set forth herein.